Dr. Kirsty Horsey:

I have done research in the past that informs some of my statements and opinions, but I hope that the research that I am doing currently will be published soon. There was nothing in its early findings that surprised me; it all seemed to validate or back up previous research that had been undertaken and it told us many of the same things. This is a cohort of people who have undergone surrogacy treatments via the London Women's Clinic. We are looking at their views on surrogacy and the processes. There are aspects of the clinical processes that we are asking them about, including their birth experiences. We are also looking at their understanding of the law and their views on the potential legal reforms that I hope will be made when the law commissions make their final recommendations. That aspect of the research is yet to be published but should be published soon.

I could share with the committee some data if there was something it wanted to know specifically, but it should be recognised that this is a cohort of surrogates being treated at one particular set of private clinics in the UK context, and although it is probably representative, it is not necessarily wholly representative and does not include anyone undertaking international surrogacy.